Grand Duchy of Lithuania

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Grand Duchy of Lithuania
c. 1236–1795[a]
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the height of its power in the 15th century.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the height of its power in the 15th century.
Status
Capital
Common languages
Yiddish, Tatar, Karaim (see § Languages
)
Religion
Government
Grand Duke 
• 1236–1263 (from 1251 as King)
Mindaugas (first)
• 1764–1795
Stanisław August Poniatowski (last)
Legislature
Seimas
• Privy Council
Council of Lords
History 
• Consolidation began
1180s
1251–1263
14 August 1385
1 July 1569
24 October 1795
Area
1260[4]200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi)
1430[4]930,000 km2 (360,000 sq mi)
1572[4]320,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi)
1791[4]250,000 km2 (97,000 sq mi)
1793[4]132,000 km2 (51,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1260[4]
400,000
• 1430[4]
2,500,000
• 1572[4]
1,700,000
• 1791[4]
2,500,000
• 1793[4]
1,800,000
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Kingdom of Lithuania
Kingdom of Prussia
Russian Empire
West Galicia
  1. ^ Unsuccessful Constitution of 3 May 1791 envisioned a unitary state whereby the Grand Duchy would be abolished; however, an addendum to the Constitution, known as the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations, restored Lithuania on 20 October 1791.[1]
  2. ^ Supposed appearance of the royal (military) banner with design derived from a 16th century coat of arms[2][3]

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a

Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija, which by 1440, became the largest European state controlling an area from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.[7][8][9]

The grand duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other neighbouring states, including what is now Belarus, Lithuania, most of Ukraine as well as parts of Latvia, Moldova, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe.[10] It was a multi-ethnic and multiconfessional state, with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage.

The consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 13th century.

patrilineal members of the Lithuanian ruling Gediminids dynasty who since the 14th–15th centuries ruled not only Lithuania, but also Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, and Moldavia.[15][16]

The reign of

Grand Duchy of Moscow
forced the union to remain intact.

Eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the Federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate ministries, laws, army, and treasury.[20] The federation was terminated by the passing of the Constitution of 3 May 1791, when it was supposed to become a single country, the Commonwealth, under one monarch, one parliament and no Lithuanian autonomy. Shortly afterward, the unitary character of the state was confirmed by adopting the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations.

However, the newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792 and partitioned between neighbouring states. A truncated state (whose principal cities were Kraków, Warsaw and Vilnius) remained that was nominally independent. After the Kościuszko Uprising, the territory was completely partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and Austria in 1795.

Etymology

See also: Name of Lithuania

The name of Lithuania (Litua) was first mentioned in 1009 in

Lietava.[21] As time passed, the suffix -ava could have changed into -uva, as the two are from the same suffix branch. The river flows in the lowlands and easily spills over its banks, therefore the traditional Lithuanian form liet- could be directly translated as lietis (to spill), of the root derived from the Proto-Indo-European leyǝ-.[22] However, the river is very small and some[who?] find it improbable that such a small and local object could have lent its name to an entire nation. On the other hand, such a fact is not unprecedented in world history.[23] A credible modern theory of etymology of the name of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva) is Artūras Dubonis's hypothesis,[24] that Lietuva relates to the word leičiai (plural of leitis, a social group of warriors-knights in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania). The title of the Grand Duchy was consistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century onward.[25]

In other languages, the grand duchy is referred to as:

  • Belarusian: Вялікае Княства Літоўскае / Vialikaje Kniastva Litoŭskaje
  • Croatian: Velika Kneževina Litva
  • Czech: Litevské velkoknížectví
  • German: Großfürstentum Litauen
  • Estonian: Leedu Suurvürstiriik
  • Hungarian: Litván Nagyfejedelemség
  • Latin
    : Magnus Ducatus Lituaniæ
  • Latvian: Lieitija or Lietuvas Lielkņaziste
  • Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė
  • Old literary Lithuanian: Didi Kunigystė Lietuvos (didi Kunigiſte Lietuwos[26])
  • Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie
  • Romanian: Marele Ducat al Lituaniei
  • Russian: Великое княжество Литовское
  • Ruthenian: Велїкое кнꙗзство Лїтовское
  • Slovak: Litovské veľkokniežatstvo
  • Swedish: Storfurstendömet Litauen
  • Ukrainian: Велике князiвство Литовське

Naming convention of both title of ruler (

Statute of Lithuania described the titles of Sigismund I the Old as "King of Poland, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Samogitia, Mazovia, and other [lands]".[36]

The country was also called the Republic of Lithuania (

Latin: Respublica Lituana) since at least the mid-16th century, already before the Union of Lublin in 1569.[37]

History

Establishment of the state

Main articles: History of Lithuania (1219–1295), Duchy of Lithuania, and Lithuanian Crusade
Balts in the 12th century
Lithuania in the Mappa mundi of Pietro Vesconte, 1321. The inscription reads: Letvini pagani – pagan Lithuanians.
Description of Kernavė as "Kiernow primum M. Duci Lith. domicilium" (English: Kernavė, the first residence-capital of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania) in the Radziwiłł map[38]

The

Novgorod.[40] The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of the Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija.[5] The Lithuanians are the only branch within the Baltic group that managed to create a state entity in premodern times.[41]

The

Žemaitija. Although they had battled in the past, the Lithuanians and the Žemaičiai now faced a common enemy.[42] Likely Živinbudas had the most authority[40] and at least several dukes were from the same families.[43] The formal acknowledgement of common interests and the establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state.[44]

Kingdom of Lithuania

Main article: Kingdom of Lithuania

Mindaugas, the duke

Hrodna.[47]

In 1248, a civil war broke out between Mindaugas and his nephews

Daugava River basin, and Pinsk.[47] The Teutonic Knights used this period to strengthen their position in parts of Samogitia and Livonia, but they lost the Battle of Skuodas in 1259 and the Battle of Durbe in 1260.[49] This encouraged the conquered Semigallians and Old Prussians to rebel against the Knights.[50]

Encouraged by Treniota, Mindaugas broke the peace with the Order, possibly reverted to pagan beliefs. He hoped to unite all Baltic tribes under the Lithuanian leadership. As military campaigns were not successful, the relationships between Mindaugas and Treniota deteriorated. Treniota, together with Daumantas of Pskov, assassinated Mindaugas and his two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, in 1263.[51] The state lapsed into years of internal fighting.[52]

Rise of the Gediminids

Main article: Gediminids
See also: Palemonids
Columns of Gediminas
Gediminas' Tower and other remnants of the Upper Castle in Vilnius

From 1263 to 1269, Lithuania had three grand dukes –

Švarnas. The state did not disintegrate, however, and Traidenis came to power in 1269. Traidenis strengthened Lithuanian control in Black Ruthenia, fought with the Livonian Order, winning the Battle of Karuse in 1270 and the Battle of Aizkraukle in 1279, and assisted the Yotvingians/Sudovians to defend from the Teutonic Order.[53] For his military assistance, Nameisis recognized Traidenis as his suzerain.[54] There is considerable uncertainty about the identities of the grand dukes of Lithuania between Traidenis' death in 1282 and the assumption of power by Vytenis in 1295. The country's capital was located in Kernavė until 1316 or 1321 where Traidenis and Vytenis mainly resided and led to its prosperity.[55][56][57]

During this time, the Orders finalized their conquests. In 1274, the

Great Prussian Rebellion ended, and the Teutonic Knights proceeded to conquer other Baltic tribes: the Nadruvians and Skalvians in 1274–1277, and the Yotvingians in 1283; the Livonian Order completed its conquest of Semigalia, the last Baltic ally of Lithuania, in 1291.[58] The Orders could now turn their full attention to Lithuania. The "buffer zone" composed of other Baltic tribes had disappeared, and Grand Duchy of Lithuania was left to battle the Orders on its own.[59]

The

Nemunas.[62] Gradually this network developed into the main defensive line against the Teutonic Order.[62]

Territorial expansion

Main articles: Battle on the Irpin River and Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
Lithuanian state in 13–15th centuries

The expansion of the state reached its height under Grand Duke

Kiev, into exile. Gediminas also re-established the permanent capital of the Grand Duchy in Vilnius,[66] presumably moving it from Old Trakai in 1323, which previously served as the country's capital since 1316 or 1321.[67][56][68] The state continued to expand its territory under the reign of Grand Duke Algirdas and his brother Kęstutis, who both ruled the state harmonically.[69][70] During the inaugurations of Lithuanian monarchs until 1569, the Gediminas' Cap was placed on the monarch's heads by the Bishop of Vilnius in Vilnius Cathedral.[71]

Lubart's Castle in Ukraine, built by the son of Gediminas' Liubartas in the mid-14th century, is famous for the Congress of Lutsk which took place in 1429
Grand Duchy of Lithuania under the rule of Vytautas the Great (1392 – 1430)

Lithuania was in a good position to conquer the western and the southern parts of the former

Moscow. Such relationships could be tenuous, however, as changes in a city's internal politics could disrupt Lithuanian control, as happened on a number of occasions with Novgorod and other East-Slavic cities.[citation needed
]

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania managed to hold off Mongol incursions and eventually secured gains. In 1333 and 1339, Lithuanians defeated large Mongol forces attempting to regain

Battle at Blue Waters.[73]

In 1380, a Lithuanian army allied with Russian forces to defeat the Golden Horde in the Battle of Kulikovo, and though the rule of the Mongols did not end, their influence in the region waned thereafter. In 1387, Moldavia became a vassal of Poland and, in a broader sense, of Lithuania. By this time, Lithuania had conquered the territory of the Golden Horde all the way to the Dnieper River. In a crusade against the Golden Horde in 1398 (in an alliance with Tokhtamysh), Lithuania invaded northern Crimea and won a decisive victory. In an attempt to place Tokhtamish on the Golden Horde throne in 1399, Lithuania moved against the Horde but was defeated in the Battle of the Vorskla River, losing the steppe region.[74]

One of the largest European countries, ruled by Gediminids–Jagiellonians

Main articles: Union of Krewo, Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392), and Jagiellonian dynasty
Poland and Lithuania
in 1386–1434
Trakai Island Castle, built by Grand Duke Vytautas, which served as a residence of Lithuanian Grand Dukes[75]

Lithuania was Christianized in 1387, led by

Vasili II of Moscow.[78]

In 1410, Vytautas commanded the forces of the Grand Duchy in the

Goštautas families started to gain influence.[79][80]

The Battle of Grunwald, 1410, with Ulrich von Jungingen and Vytautas at center
Restored Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, which was reconstructed in a Renaissance style by Sigismund I the Old and his son Sigismund II Augustus

In 1440, Casimir IV Jagiellon was sent by his older brother Władysław III to Lithuania to rule in his name, however instead a manifestation of the sovereignty of Lithuania occurred when Casimir was elected as the Grand Duke of Lithuania upon his arrival to Vilnius on 29 June 1440 and subsequently titled himself as a "free lord" (pan – dominus), this way breaching the agreements of the Union of Grodno (1432) and terminating the Polish–Lithuanian union; Casimir also became the King of Poland in 1447.[81][82] Following Casimir's death in 1492, the factual termination of the Polish–Lithuanian union also occurred during the reign of Casimir's sons Alexander Jagiellon and John I Albert who had respectively ruled Lithuania and Poland separately in 1492–1501.[83]

The rapid expansion of the influence of

Ivan III further consolidated Muscovy, winning the key Battle of Vedrosha and capturing such ancient lands of Kievan Rus' as Chernihiv and Bryansk.[84]

On 8 September 1514, the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski, fought the Battle of Orsha against the army of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Golitsin. The battle was part of a long series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars conducted by Russian rulers striving to gather all the former lands of Kievan Rus' under their rule. According to Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii by Sigismund von Herberstein, the primary source for the information on the battle, the much smaller army of Poland–Lithuania (under 30,000 men) defeated the 80,000 Muscovite soldiers, capturing their camp and commander. The Muscovites lost about 30,000 men, while the losses of the Poland–Lithuania army totalled only 500. While the battle is remembered as one of the greatest Lithuanian victories, Muscovy ultimately prevailed in the war. Under the 1522 peace treaty, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania made large territorial concessions.[85]

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Main articles: Union of Lublin and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth c. 1635
The preservation of the Great Seal of Lithuania (pictured, dating to 1623) when concluding the Union of Lublin meant that the elected monarchs acts without being confirmed with the Lithuanian seals were void in Lithuania. These Lithuanian seals were in possession of the Lithuanian Grand Chancellor (Great Seal) and Lithuanian Vice-Chancellor [lt] (Lesser Seal).[86][87][88]

The wars with the Teutonic Order, the loss of land to Moscow, and the continued pressure threatened the survival of the state of Lithuania, so it was forced to ally more closely with Poland, forming a

Crown of the Polish Kingdom, while the gradual process of Polonization slowly drew Lithuania itself under Polish domination.[89][90][91]

Following the death of Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus in 1572, a joint Polish–Lithuanian monarch was to be elected as in the Union of Lublin it was agreed that the title "Grand Duke of Lithuania" will be received by a jointly elected monarch in the Election sejm on his accession to the throne, thus losing its former institutional significance, however the Union of Lublin guaranteed that the institution and the title "Grand Duke of Lithuania" will be preserved.[92][71][93]

In 1573, Henry Valua was elected as the first joint Polish–Lithuanian monarch, however his rule was short and he never personally visited the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, despite being announced as the Grand Duke of Lithuania.[94]

The double election of 1575 was held in the presence of a small number of Lithuanian lords, who additionally supported the Habsburg candidate Emperor Maximilian II, however, the race for the crown was won by Stephen Báthory, crowned on May 1, 1576.[95] The Lithuanian lords, at a convention in Grodno (on 8-20 April 1576), protested this choice, threatening to break the union and giving themselves the right to choose a separate ruler.[96] However, the king managed to rally the Lithuanian delegation by promising to preserve their rights and freedoms.[95] On May 29, 1580, in Vilnius Cathedral, King and Grand Duke Stephen Báthory received from the hand of the bishop of Samogitia Merkelis Giedraitis a blessed sword and hat, given by Pope Gregory XIII through the envoy Paweł Uchański.[97] This was a recognition by the Pope of the ruler's successes in the struggle against the infidels.[97][98] In Lithuania, this ceremony was treated as the celebration of the elevation of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, during which Lithuania's sovereignty was manifested.[99][100] Báthory's reign was marked with successful Livonian campaign against tsar Ivan the Terrible's military forces, which resulted in the reintegration of Polotsk to Lithuania and the restoration of control of the Duchy of Livonia.[101]

The Third Statute of Lithuania (confirmed in 1588), which stated that Poland and Lithuania have equal rights within the Commonwealth[102]

The rule of Lithuania by the Gediminid–Jagiellonian family representatives resumed through

Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) Polish and Lithuanian armies achieved territorial gains (e.g. restored the control of Smolensk, the capital of the Smolensk Voivodeship, in 1611) and for the first time fully captured Russia's capital Moscow in 1610.[103] Sigismund III's son, Władysław IV Vasa, began ruling Lithuania in 1632 and achieved military success and popularity during the Smolensk War, but he renounced his claims to the Russian throne per the Treaty of Polyanovka in 1634 and failed at reclaiming the Swedish throne.[104][103]

Charles X Gustav as the Grand Duke of Lithuania and fell under the protection of the Swedish Empire.[105] However, by 1657 Lithuania was once again a part of the Commonwealth following the Lithuanian revolt against the Swedes.[106] The Lithuania's capital Vilnius was liberated in 1661.[107]

Throughout this Polish–Lithuanian Union period, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained a separate state and retained many rights in the federation (including separate name, territory, coat of arms, ministries, ruling system, laws, army, courts, treasury, and seal) until the Constitution of 3 May and Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations were passed in 1791.[108][109][86]

Partitions and the Napoleonic period

Following the

Polish-Lithuanian Union.[110] The union was never formalized, however, as only half a year later Napoleon's Grande Armée was pushed out of Russia and forced to retreat further westwards. In December 1812, Vilnius was recaptured by Russian forces, bringing all plans for the recreation of the Grand Duchy to an end.[110] Most of the lands of the former Grand Duchy were re-annexed by Russia. The Augustów Voivodeship (later Augustów Governorate), including the counties of Marijampolė and Kalvarija, was attached to the Kingdom of Poland, a rump state in personal union with Russia.[citation needed
]

Administrative division

Main article: Administrative divisions of Lithuania
See also: List of cities in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Lithuania and its administrative divisions in 1385.
Lithuania and its administrative divisions in the 17th century

Administrative structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1413–1564).[111]

Voivodeship (Palatinatus) Established
Vilnius 1413
Trakai 1413
Samogitian eldership 1413
Kiev 1471
Polotsk 1504
Naugardukas 1507
Smolensk 1508
Vitebsk 1511
Podlaskie 1514
Brest Litovsk 1566
Minsk 1566
Mstislavl 1569
Volhyn 1564–1566
Bratslav 1564
Duchy of Livonia 1561

Religion and culture

Christianity and paganism

See also: Lithuanian mythology and Christianization of Lithuania
Cosmographia universalis
(first edition 1544), describing the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1544
Church of St. Johns in Vilnius. Example of Vilnian Baroque style[112]
St. Anne's Church and the church of the Bernardine Monastery in Vilnius. Two examples of Gothic architecture
.

After the baptism in 1252 and coronation of King

Halych metropoly was liquidated and its eparchies transferred to the metropoles of Lithuania and Volhynia.[114]

In 1387, Lithuania

Jogaila banned Catholics marriages with Orthodox, and demanded those Orthodox who previously married with the Catholics to convert to Catholicism.[115] At one point, though, Pope Alexander VI reprimanded the Grand Duke for keeping non-Catholics as advisers.[116] Consequently, only in 1563 did Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus issue a privilege that equalized the rights of Orthodox and Catholics in Lithuania and abolished all previous restrictions on Orthodox.[117] There was an effort to polarise Orthodox Christians after the Union of Brest in 1596, by which some Orthodox Christians acknowledged papal authority and Catholic catechism, but preserved their liturgy. The country also became one of the major centres of the Reformation.[118]

In the second half of the 16th century, Calvinism spread in Lithuania, supported by the families of

Calvinist or Socinian Unitarians (Jan Kiszka).[119]

In 1579, Stephen Báthory, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, founded Vilnius University, one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe. Due to the work of the Jesuits during the Counter-Reformation the university soon developed into one of the most important scientific and cultural centres of the region and the most notable scientific centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[120] The work of the Jesuits as well as conversions from among the Lithuanian senatorial families turned the tide and by the 1670s Calvinism lost its former importance though it still retained some influence among the ethnically Lithuanian peasants and some middle nobility.[citation needed]

Islam

See also: Islam in Lithuania and Lipka Tatars
Gulistan mint dang of Golden Horde ruler Jani Beg (Jambek). Uncertain Kiev region mint. Pseudo-Arabic legend.[121][122][123]

Crimean Peninsula in 1397, Vytautas brought the first Crimean Tatar prisoners of war to Trakai and various places in the Duchy of Trakai, including localities near Vokė river just south of Vilnius. The first mosque in this village was mentioned for the first time in 1558. There were 42 Tatar families in the village in 1630.[126]

Judaism

See also: History of the Jews in Lithuania and Crimean Karaites

Languages

Constitution of 3 May, one of the first official state documents issued in both Polish and Lithuanian, Lithuanian edition

Linguistic groups

Area where according to Zigmas Zinkevičius the Lithuanian language was predominantly spoken in the 16th century

The majority of inhabitants of Lithuania proper, which included the voivodeships of Vilnius, Trakai and Samogitia, spoke Lithuanian.[127] These areas remained almost wholly Lithuanian-speaking, both colloquially and by ruling nobility.[128] Despite its frequent oral use, Lithuanian did not begin to be used in writing until the 16th century.[129]

Ruthenians, ancestors of modern Belarusians and Ukrainians, living in the eastern and southern lands of the Grand Duchy spoke

Chancery Ruthenian, close to but not identical to the spoken language, which over time absorbed many Lithuanian and Polish words.[131][132][133]

Some Poles (mainly burghers, clergy, merchants, and szlachta) moved to Lithuania, although this migration was small-scale.[134] After the Union of Lublin, this movement significantly increased.[135] Polish was adopted also gradually by the local inhabitants.[citation needed] Already in early 16th century, Polish became the Lithuanian magnates' first language.[citation needed] The following century it was adopted by the Lithuanian nobility in general.[136] The Polish language also penetrated other social strata: the clergy, the townspeople, and even the peasants.[137] Since the 16th century, Polish was used much more often than other languages for writing.[citation needed] Polish finally became the Commonwealth's official chancellery language in 1697.[138][139][140][141]

Other important ethnic groups throughout the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were

Lithuanian Tatars used a language of Kipchak origin that was full of borrowings from Turkish and Arabic.[143] It ceased to be used in the 16th century, and was replaced by Ruthenian and Polish, written in the Arabic alphabet.[143] Brought in 1397 from Crimea, Karaites used a dialect of West Karaite language, while Hebrew was used for religious purposes.[144]

In addition, Livonia, which had been politically connected to the Grand Duchy since the mid-16th century, was inhabited by Latgalians who spoke a dialect of the Latvian language.[145] Inhabiting the towns, mainly in Livonia, the mostly Protestant Germans used a local variety of German called Baltendeutsch.[142] Prussian and Yotvingians refugees, pushed out by the Teutonic Knights, also found their footing in the Grand Duchy.[145] Similarly, Russian Old Believers emigrated to Lithuanian lands in the 17th century.[142]

Languages of administration

Title of the Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania written in the Ruthenian language, 1588

The Grand Duchy's linguistic and ethnic situation, as well as the fusion of Lithuanian and Ruthenian elements in its culture, became the trigger for a long-running debate among historians from Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine over whether the state was essentially Lithuanian or Ruthenian-Lithuanian, in which the more advanced Ruthenian culture played a central role.[146]

Before the Lithuanian expansion into the Ruthenian lands, Lithuanian was the only language of public life.

Chancery Ruthenian, a language similar to, but not the same as, the spoken language used by Ruthenians living in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[133] As for the correspondences with foreign courts the grand ducal chancellery prepared it in the language appropriate to the recipient: Latin for the correspondence with the West, German with the Teutonic Order and Chancery Ruthenian with the East Slavic and Tatar rulers.[127][149][150]

The Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander Jagiellon, specified that the Roman Catholic priests in these 28 churches must know the Lithuanian language, according to his letter of 18 September 1501, which was addressed to the Bishop of Vilnius Albertas.[151][152]

The language used at court continued to be Lithuanian until the mid-16th century, the other being Ruthenian; later, both languages began to be replaced by Polish.

Casimir Jagiellon, who had to learn it when he assumed power in the Grand Duchy in 1444.[159] Casimir's assumption of power in Poland in 1447 marked the end of the existence of a separate court in Vilnius (it later existed only in years 1492-1496 and 1544-1548[160]). Many Lithuanians and Ruthenian nobles joined the court in Kraków, they learned Polish language over time.[161] Casimir was the last Grand Duke to know the Lithuanian language.[162] From 1500, the elite of the Lithuanian state rapidly adopted the Polish language.[160][163]

The process of moving away from Ruthenian to Polish in administration was soon apparent. The first were the nobles of

Court Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Lew Sapieha noted in the preface of the Third Statute of Lithuania (1588) that all state documents to be written exclusively in Ruthenian.[167] Despite this, after the Polish translation of the statute was published in 1614, it was not reissued in Ruthenian ever again.[168] Polish was increasingly used in official documents, especially after the Union of Lublin.[140] Finally, in 1697, the Sejm, as part of the equalization of law between Lithuania and Poland, confirmed that only the Polish language was to be used in administration in Lithuania,[141][130] although Ruthenian continued to be used on a few official documents until the second half of the 18th century.[139]

King Władysław IV's universal of March 22, 1639 forbidding his subjects to hunt on the territory of Ducal Prussia. The universal was translated into Old Lithuanian at the Prussian chancellery.[169]

After the baptism, the use of Latin, still the main language of learning and writing in Western Europe, also spread in Lithuania as a language of document. Latin was the second language of the grand ducal chancellery in the 14th-16th centuries, although it was used less frequently than Ruthenian in internal administration.[170] This was accompanied by the spread since mid-15th century of the legend of the Roman origin of the Lithuanian nobility (from the Palemon lineage), and the closeness of the Lithuanian language and Latin. This let some intellectuals in the mid-16th century to advocate for replacement of Ruthenian with Latin, as they considered Latin as the native language of Lithuanians.[171][172]

Despite the appearance of literature in Lithuanian in the 16th century, the language did not gain the status of a chancellery language in the Grand Duchy until the late 18th century.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to Prussia, which was then a Polish fief.[174] In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the first document in Lithuanian was a translation from the Polish text of the May 3 Constitution, which was issued in 1791.[175] Subsequently, several documents were published in Lithuanian during the Kościuszko Uprising.[175] Of course, Lithuanian was used in speech, in administrative offices and by government officials when dealing with residents who were unable to communicate in another language.[176] Vilnius city charter of November 18, 1551 declared that summons to court and verdicts had to be announced in Lithuanian, Polish, and Ruthenian.[177][178] A similar charter was issued in Kaunas in 1540.[179][180][177]

Demographics

See also: Demographic history of Poland § Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)

In 1260, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the land of Lithuania, and ethnic Lithuanians formed the majority (67.5%) of its 400,000 people.[181] With the acquisition of new Ruthenian territories, in 1340 this portion decreased to 30%.[182] By the time of the largest expansion towards Rus' lands, which came at the end of the 13th and during the 14th century, the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was 800 to 930 thousand km2, just 10% to 14% of which was ethnically Lithuanian.[181][183]

On 6 May 1434, Grand Duke

Lithuanian nobles rights in order to attract the Slavic nobles of the eastern regions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who supported the former Grand Duke Švitrigaila.[184]

An estimate of the population in the territory of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania together gives a population at 7.5 million for 1493, breaking them down by ethnicity at 3.75 million Ruthenians (ethnic Ukrainians, Belarusians), 3.25 million Poles and 0.5 million Lithuanians.[185] With the Union of Lublin, 1569, Lithuanian Grand Duchy lost large part of lands to the Polish Crown.

According to an analysis of the tax registers in 1572, Lithuania proper had 850,000 residents of which 680,000 were Lithuanians.[186]

In the mid and late 17th century, due to Russian and Swedish invasions, there was much devastation and population loss on throughout the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,

partitions.[181]

Legacy

The first printed book in Lithuanian Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas by Martynas Mažvydas

Teutonic Knights
to settle near the Prussian area of settlement. The fighting between Prussians and the Teutonic Knights gave the more distant Lithuanian tribes time to unite. Because of strong enemies in the south and north, the newly formed Lithuanian state concentrated most of its military and diplomatic efforts on expansion eastward.

The rest of the former Ruthenian lands were conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Some other lands in Ukraine were vassalized by Lithuania later. The subjugation of Eastern Slavs by two powers created substantial differences between them that persist to this day. While there were certainly substantial regional differences in Kievan Rus', it was the Lithuanian annexation of much of southern and western Ruthenia that led to the permanent division between Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians, and even four Grand Dukes of Lithuania are appeared on the Millennium of Russia monument.

In the 19th century, the romantic references to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were an inspiration and a substantial part of both the

Lithuanian and Belarusian national revival movements and Romanticism in Poland
.

Notwithstanding the above, Lithuania was a kingdom under Mindaugas, who was crowned by the authority of Pope Innocent IV in 1253. Vytenis, Gediminas and Vytautas the Great also assumed the title of King, although uncrowned by the Pope. A failed attempt was made in 1918 to revive the Kingdom under a German Prince, Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach, who would have reigned as Mindaugas II of Lithuania.

In the first half of the 20th century, the memory of the multiethnic history of the Grand Duchy was revived by the people connected with the Krajowcy movement,[188][189] such as Ludwik Abramowicz, Konstancja Skirmuntt, Michał Pius Römer, Juozapas Albinas Herbačiauskas, Józef Mackiewicz and Stanisław Mackiewicz.[190][191] This feeling was expressed in poetry by Czesław Miłosz.[191]

Medieval-like Lithuanian soldiers during the historical reenactment of the Battle of Grunwald in 2009

The Act of Independence of Lithuania, signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaimed that "the Council of Lithuania, as the sole representative of the Lithuanian nation, based on the recognized right to national self-determination, and on the Vilnius Conference's resolution of September 18–23, 1917, proclaims the restoration of the independent state of Lithuania, founded on democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital, and declares the termination of all state ties which formerly bound this State to other nations".[192] In the preamble of the most recent Constitution of Lithuania, adopted during the 1992 Lithuanian constitutional referendum, the continuity of Lithuanian statehood is also stressed.[193]

Pseudoscientific theory of litvinism was developed since the 1990s.[194]

Famous Lithuanian sports clubs BC Žalgiris and FK Žalgiris as well the largest indoor arena in Lithuania are named after the Battle of Grunwald (Žalgirio mūšis).

According to the 10th article of the Law on the State Flag and Other Flags of the Republic of Lithuania (

Vytautas the Great)[195] must be constantly raised over the most important governmental buildings (e.g. Seimas Palace, Government of Lithuania and its ministries, Lithuanian courts, municipal council buildings) and significant historical buildings (e.g. Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Trakai Island Castle), also in Kernavė and in the site of the Senieji Trakai Castle.[196]

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  181. ^ a b c d Letukienė, Nijolė; Gineika, Petras (2003). "Istorija. Politologija: kurso santrauka istorijos egzaminui" (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Alma littera: 182. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help). Statistical numbers, usually accepted in historiography (the sources, their treatment, the method of measuring is not discussed in the source), are given, according to which in 1260 there were about 0.27 million Lithuanians out of a total population of 0.4 million (or 67.5%). The size of the territory of the Grand Duchy was about 200 thousand km2. The following data on population is given in the sequence – year, total population in millions, territory, Lithuanian (inhabitants of ethnic Lithuania) part of population in millions: 1340 – 0.7, 350 thousand km2, 0.37; 1375 – 1.4, 700 thousand km2, 0.42; 1430 – 2.5, 930 thousand km2, 0.59 or 24%; 1490 – 3.8, 850 thousand km2, 0.55 or 14% or 1/7; 1522 – 2.365, 485 thousand km2, 0.7 or 30%; 1568 – 2.8, 570 thousand km2, 0.825 million or 30%; 1572, 1.71, 320 thousand km2, 0.85 million or 50%; 1770 – 4.84, 320 thousand km2, 1.39 or 29%; 1791 – 2.5, 250 km2, 1.4 or 56%; 1793 – 1.8, 132 km2, 1.35 or 75%
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Bibliography

External links

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